Coach Cameron now trains basketball players in SOWEGA to play college basketball

ALBANY, GA (WALB) -

On August 29th 2005, tragedy struck when Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Former Albany State basketball coach Chris Cameron was then an associate coach for Xavier University in New Orleans.

He and his head coach made a split decision to evacuate the day before the storm struck the city.

"We was having a debate about it, said the Albany sports hall-of-fame inductee. "But when he called me that morning and said we have to go ahead and leave, I was stuck I wasn't prepared."

Not many were prepared for the storm that took the lives of more than 1800 people and wiped away the homes of many people including Cameron.

"I had about 2-feet of water in mine, said Cameron. "So when I got back, pretty much I couldn't do anything. I just tried to go and salvage what I could salvage, but a lot of my personal items...I lost those."

Cameron played basketball for Dougherty High, Tulane University in New Orleans and at the professional level. He lost many of his game tapes, including one he is sad he can't show the players he coaches today.

"Still have a story that I played against Magic Johnson that some of my players don't believe. And I say y'all lucky Hurricane Katrina got my stuff."

But Cameron is grateful it didn't take his life. And when he returned to Albany, he was able to assume his former role as ASU assistant basketball coach.

"That job was still open, so I just came back and fell right into that job. same office. so that was a blessing for me to come back."